Tag or marker for identifying an individual customer&#39;s laundry or the like



A. 0. LONG Sept, '19, 1939.. I

TAG OR MARKER FOR IDENTIFYING AN INDIVIDUAL CUSTOMER'S LAUNDRY OR THE LIKE Filed July 3 1936 INVENTOR Arc I O on A'ITO RNEY Patented Sept. 19, 1939 UiTE lie

TENT OFFICE TAG R KER. FOR IDENTIFYING AN IN- DIVIDUAL CUSTOMERS LAUNDRY OR THE LIKE 4 Claims.

This invention relates to a tag or marker for maintaining identity of each customers laundry from the time of its receipt at the laundry until it is ready to be returned to the customer. A

5 customers washing as received by the laundry contains many articles that require different treatment and processing in the various departments of a laundry. For example, a conventional wash might consist of light and colored pieces to be delivered as wet wash, rough dry or fully finished; other pieces such as sheets, towels and the like that are to be finished fiat; shirts which require different starching operations; and perhaps articles that are to be dry cleaned, etc. These articles must, therefore, be classified and separated' into lots according to the different finishing processes and departments to which they are to be consigned. When the processing of the respective lots has been completed they must be collected and packaged for return to the customer. Present methods of marking and identifying the respective lots of laundry are not satisfactory and result in much confusion and perhaps entire loss of identity of different articles when they are reassembled for packaging.

It is, therefore, a principal object of the present invention to provide a tag or marker whereby the identity of the individual lots of a customers laundry may be maintained throughout the various processing steps and reassembled for packaging with substantially no chance of error.

Other important objects of the invention are to provide each lot with a tag attached incidental to closure of the bag in which it is consigned to the department to be processed; to provide a tag having identifying characteristics which are only matchable with similar characteristics of a support on which the respective lots are collected after they have been processed; to provide a tag which is not affected by the washing processes to which the articles are subjected; and to provide a tag construction which is not destructive to the bag or its contents during the washing operations.

In accomplishing these and other objects of the invention, as hereinafter pointed out, I have provided improved details of structure, the preferred forms of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the upper portion of a laundry bag for containing one lot of a customers laundry and shown in association with a tag constructed with attaching means arranged to close the mouth of the bag for retaining its contents.

Fig. 2 is a detail perspective view of a portion (Cl. MF-19.5)

of the rack for carrying brackets on which the individual lots of each customers laundry are suspended preparatory for distribution to the respective departments and on which they are again reassembled preparatory for packaging.

Fig. 3 is an, enlarged perspective View of the tag and its fastening means for attaching the tag to the bag and effecting closure thereof.

Fig. 4 is a similar view of the tag with the parts in interengaged position as when fastening a bag.

Fig. 5 is a section through the fastener on the line 55, Fig. 6.

Fig. 6 is a section through the fastener on the line 86, Fig. 5.

Referring more in detail to the drawing:

In carrying out the present invention, the customers washing is separated into classes corresponding to departments in the laundry wherein the respective classes are processed and the articles in each class are placed in a bag or bags I that are formed of woven material and have open tops 2 through which the articles are inserted. For example, all of the dark colored fabrics may be placed in one bag, all of the light colored fabrics in another bag, or the light and dark colored articles may again be respectively divided and placed in individual bags according to the method of finishing them. Thus when a customers wash is divided it may include a number of bags, some of which are distributed to one department while others are distributed to different departments. In order to identify the bags belonging to one customer, each bag is provided with a tag 3 having exactly the same identifying characteristics, it being necessary to provide a set of tags for each customers wash.

The tags 3 are preferably formed of rectangular strips of flexible material capable of withstanding the processing to which the articles contained in the bags are subjected. It is also important that the tags be formed of a material which will not rust or damage the bag, its contents, or the washers and other laundry equipment in which the bags are placed. I have found that the most suitable material is a high-grade 4 rubber of sufficient thickness and body to retain the shape of the tag, as it is not subject to disintegration by the hot water and chemicals used in washing or processing of the articles. This material may also be readily shaped and molded to cover the grummets and other metal accessories incorporated in the construction of the tags.

The tag has spaced apertures 6 and 1 reinforced by grummets 8 and 9. The apertures 6 and i may be of various shapes and combinations to provide a tag with identifying characteristics individual to the characteristics of a supporting bracket upon which a set of like tags are supported, as best illustrated in Fig. 2. The brackets include a plate of substantially longer length and slightly wider than the tags to provide an upper supporting portion i l having an inverted keyhole-shaped slot l2 for hanging the tags on a suitable rack (not shown), and to provide side margins l3 and It at the respective sides of the tags.

Projecting from the plate portions of the brackets at a point spaced from the keyhole slots are arms or pales l5 and it having the cross-sectional shape and spacing of the apertures 6 and 1 so that the tags may be readily applied to the brackets by causing the apertures to pass the projecting ends of the arms. The arms l5 and I6 are of suitable length to support a full set of tags and to accommodate the bags when they are suspended therefrom as later described.

In order that only tags of one set may be impaled on a bracket corresponding to a numeral designated ll on the plate portion l0 and to the numeral as indicated at l8 on the upper ends of the tags, the arms of each bracket are provided with different spacings and/or different sized cross-sections from the arms of the other brackets so that it is impossible to apply one set of tags on any bracket other than the bracket having the numeral corresponding with the numeral on the set of tags.

IE! designates a rack including a track 253 carrying a plurality of hangers 2| that are suspended from the track by suitable trucks 22. The hangers 22 include depending plate portions 23 having sockets 24 at their lower ends to mount the lower ends of the brackets. Projecting from the sides of the brackets in staggered relation adjacent the upper and lower ends thereof are hooks 25 and 26 adapted to engage the respective margins l3 and I l when the lower ends of the brackets are inserted in the sockets 24 whereby any one of the brackets carrying its set of tags may be supported on one of the hangers to suspend a customers laundry therefrom by means of the tags after the tags have been applied to the respective bags.

In order to attach the tags to the bags they are provided with tongues 21 that are projectable through the meshes of the folded bag I to connect with a snap fastener 28 on a flexible pad 29 which engages the opposite side of the bag, as shown in Fig. 1. The snap fastener 28 includes a base plate 36 having an angle shaped hook 3i projecting therefrom to engage in an aperture 32 of the tongue 2?. Cooperating with the hook is a spring keeper 33 for engaging against the hook to prevent accidental disengagement of the parts of the fastener after the parts are connected. The pad 29 is preferably formed of the same soft resilient material as the tag and when in engaging relation with the bag cooperates therewith in protecting the fastener from damaging the other bags when the bags are tumbled about in a washer or other laundry machine. The tongue 2'6 has a base plate 34 that is attached to the tag similarly to the base plate 39 of the fastener.

In using a tag constructed as described, one customers laundry is classified according to the departments of the laundry and each class is inserted in a separate bag. One of the brackets, for example that numbered I in Fig. 2, is applied to one of the hangers 2f, the plate portion of the bracket being applied so that it enters between the hooks 25 and 26 at a slight angle whereupon the bracket is moved into vertical alignment with the hangers so that the side margins l3 and I4 thereof are engaged under the hooks, The bracket is then moved downwardly until the lower end of the plate seats in the socket 211. A tag is then removed from the bracket and the pad 29 is disengaged by releasing the tongue from engagement with the hook 3|. This is readily effected by pressing the spring keeper in the direction of the pad so that the tongue 27 will clear and slide off the hook 3|.

The open end of one of the bags is then closed by folding thereof as shown, whereupon the tongue 21 is projected through the folded end of the bag. The pad 29 is then secured to the projecting end of the tongue by pressing on the keeper 33 so as to permit passage of the hook through the aperture 32, whereupon the keeper is released so that it springs into engagement with the hook to securely retain the pad and prevent its slipping therefrom until the keeper is again released. A separate tag is applied in similar manner to each of the other bags Whereupon the tags carrying the bags are suspended from the arms of the bracket from which they were removed.

The laundry of other customers is similarly classified and bagged in the manner above described, using a separate set of tags and hanger for each customers wash. The lots of laundry contained in the respective bags are then removed from the hangers and consigned to the proper departments. Upon return of the bags they are again applied to the arms of the proper hangers, being guided by the numerals on the tags, however, should an attempt be made to apply the wrong tag on a bracket, the apertures of that tag will not register with the arms of the bracket and the operator will know that he attempted to apply the tag to the wrong bracket and will correct his error. After the bags have all been reassembled on the brackets carried by the hangers each customers laundry is now collected and ready for packaging. After removal of the articles from the bags the tags are reapplied on the proper bracket and the bracket returned to the storage rack above referred to, ready for the next use.

From the foregoing, it is obvious that I have provided a simple and convenient method of maintaining the identity of individual lots of a customers laundry so that it is impossible to confuse a lot of one customers laundry with that of another customer, and there is substantially no chance of error by sending out articles belonging to one customer with another customers wash. It is also obvious that I have provided a tag which is so formed that it will not injure the washer when the bags are tumbled about therein incidental to the washing of the clothes and that by constructing the tag and its associated pad of soft, resilient rubber it is not deteriorated by action of the chemicals contained in the washing fluid.

What I claim and. desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An article for marking laundry including a flexible tag formed of material resistant to disintegration by hot Water and chemicals used in washing clothes, reinforcing means anchored in the tag for attaching the tag to the arm of a Selected hanger, a tongue on the tag adapted to be projected through the meshes of a bag containing laundry to be identified by the tag, a flexible pad, and means on the flexible pad engageable with the tongue for retaining the tag on the bag.

2. An article for marking laundry including a flexible tag formed of material resistant to disintegration by hot water and chemicals used in washing clothes, means anchored in the tag for attaching the tag to the arm of a selected hanger, a tongue on the tag adapted to be projected through the meshes of a bag containing laundry to be identified by the tag, a flexible pad, and a hook-like member on the flexible pad engageable with the tongue and having a resilient guard extending across the hook-like member to prevent relative displacement of the hook-like member from the tongue for retaining the tag on the bag.

3. An article for marking laundry including a flexible tag formed of material resistant to disintegration by hot water and chemicals used in washing clothes, reinforcing means anchored in the tag and having an aperture adapted for hanging the tag upon a supporting arm corresponding in section to the shape of the aperture, a tongue fixed to the tag in spaced relation with said apertured reinforcing means, a flexible pad, and means on the flexible pad for engaging the tongue for securing the tag to a bag of laundry to be identified by the tag.

4. An article for marking laundry including a flexible tag formed of material resistant to disintegration by hot water and chemicals used in washing clothes, reinforcing means anchored in the tag and having an aperture adapted for hanging the tag upon a supporting arm corresponding in section to the shape of the aperture, a tongue fixed to the tag in spaced relation with said apertured reinforcing means, a flexible pad, and a hook-like member on the flexible pad for engaging the tongue and having a resilient guard extending across the hook-like member to prevent relative displacement of the hook-like member from the tongue for securing the tag to a bag of laundry to be identified by the tag.

ARCHIE 0. LONG. 

